Mirror, Mirror
by T Rocket
Summary: All Nobodies remembered their origins... Luxord however, cannot. But as he searches for a place he can properly lie about and call his own, he finds where his Somebody lived...
1. Chapter 1

All Nobodies remembered their origins. Some were slow to come around, but even Demyx, who'd had the most puzzling time trying to recall, had finally remembered his other self from Atlantica. Luxord however, couldn't remember anything. Not a slip. Not a sliver. Nothing.

He'd hid this secret from the others with twisted words and sly grins, playing around the subject like it was no more a game than the card he played with. But memories or not, once holding a firm grip over their powers, each of the Organization's Nobodies received their first mission orders.

It was from these missions, that Luxord tried to create himself a life.

Trying to formulate his other's back story--all clever little lie, Luxord first considered telling the others that his Somebody once hailed from the Deep Jungle. The naturalists there spoke with accents as he did. But...no...the jungle was not his cup or tea. Neverland as well came to mind, but not all was smooth sailing with his decision-making, as Luxord never wanted o be associated with Hook's idiocy or Pan's tom-foolery.

In the end--his lie, well crafted and sculpted to his liking, told the others he'd been from Port Royal. Yes, he noticed that the realm and Neverland shared pirates, but Port Royal's were nothing like the juvenile lunacy that ran amok in Neverland. Port Royal pirates were cunning and fierce, cut-throat and merciless. Also, he'd never seen a spot of good drink in Neverland--not once. Port Royal held more than its fair share or rum, wine, and brandy--but what Luxord was really after...was the tea.

And between the romance (in the classical coinage) of the Port, and now the tea, Luxord was sure he'd found the perfect place to hang his hat (proverbially).

Then came Rocket Town...

Axel had introduced him to the world--a backwater world called Gaia, struggling to rebuild itself after its brush with destruction at the hands of some wayward meteor. The people had enough trouble dealing with monsters of their world without the Heartless mucking about, but while they did not exactly thrive, they got by well enough. Well proven by this point were the people of Midgar, of Junon, of Wutai...

Luxord discovered a town of his own--never quite explained to him by Axel, a town as backwater as the world itself; Rocket Town.

Now, Rocket Town was not easily missed, what with the two structures towering over the tree line--the first, an older rocket, defunct now and nothing more than an over sized lawn ornament. The second was an odd building nearby, its construction so outstandingly different from the others in the area.

The people of the area attributed ownership of both monuments to the Captain--a man who acted as as an in-and-out mayor of the town. They told stories of his triumphs and fallouts at the hands of the Shin-Ra corporation, and finally his victory and launch into space. Though while that explained the old rocket (which was indeed the rocket from their tales, the pieces refitted and put together again), they could never really explain the building next to it.

"Space travel--" she'd explained to Luxord, as the man finally found a cup of tea worth dying for.

"--but he's a real spitfire, that man." she explained, changing the subject. "But he's worth it all. Done a lot of good for this town--kept us all going, that's for sure." Shera--as she'd introduced herself, was a charming woman and the tea--that glorious tea, was apparently of her own recipe. The shock came when Luxord found that she was a live-in with the Captain--the lucky dog.

Now while everyone spoke often and highly of the Captain, then man was surprisingly absent from the town.

"Now, where is that dear brother of mine, anyway?" Luxord asked, mulling contently over a hot cup of tea, provided by the lovely live-in.

He'd seen a photograph of the man in the hall, hanging from the wall. The Captain, by name of Cid Highwind, stood off to the side, gloves on his hands, goggles on his head, and a smile on his face. The man was a blonde, the color a close shade to Luxord's. And a lie to an unsuspecting woman would not hurt. He was only there for the tea after all, and the good Captain Highwind was not around to prove him otherwise.

"His brother?" she smiles, eyes lighting up. Apparently Captain Highwind never spoke of his family.

"Black sheep of the family," Luxord explained. "I've been off since I was a young man--I felt it was about time to find and make amends with my brother."

It was a charmed and sickeningly sweet conversation that followed, wherein Luxord realized that Cid really, really never spoke of his family.

Come sundown, Shera washed the dishes dirtied by their tea-drinking and cake-eating, and just as Luxord stood from the kitchen table, ready to stroll off and disappear into the falling darkness, she insisted he stay the night. She told him that it wasn't right to leave so soon, what with the Captain so soon to return (within the next two days, she'd said). She'd also promised a fresh pot of tea with breakfast.

So having already carried out his assigned duties and reported earlier to the Superior on his progress, Luxord told himself that he'd earned a break, and took the old sleep clothes Shera handed to him (the Captain's own--what an honor). Though while she'd promised him tea, she'd not prior mentioned that the guest room was really the sitting room, and that the guest bed was really the couch. It was a little lumpy and smelt of cigarettes(the smell he really couldn't catch from anywhere else in the house), but Luxord noted that there were worse things he could be sleeping on...like gorilla nests or swaying pirate ships.

With the house and surrounding landscape buried in the pitch of night and still silence that accompanied, it was no surprise that Luxord stirred awake when the sounds of footsteps and hushed voices trickled through the house.

Luxord blinked, eyes focusing in the dark room, curled up to keep his toes covered under the blanket Shera had lent to him. There was no reason to be alarmed, as by their chatter, the people awake at this unholy hour were obviously not burglars.

"Shouldn'ta shut off the headlights like that--s'fuckin hard to see when it's so dark!" One voice hissed.

"You can't keep the other worlds a secret if you go around flashing those gummi ships of yours to the whole of Rocket Town." a smoother, calmer one replied, a soft chuckle trailing his words.

The first grumbled off, swearing under his breath. It falls quiet for a moment, before he muttered up something more. "G'damnit...I swear ta' god, I'm puttin on weight..."

"And I'm proud of every pound." You can hear the smirk. "You quit smoking. That's a big feat."

The first man bristled. "I'm gunna hit you so hard, Vinnie--"

"In the bedroom, then. Let me get undressed first--" he chuckled, their voices growing fainter as they moved further away into the house.

Luxord groaned, grateful for the quiet of night again. He gave up on attempting to sleep while covering all extremities with the blanket and wound up passing out sprawled out, an arm over the one of the couch's own, a leg off the side, and the blanket rumpled half-twisted under his hips.

Luxord woke earlier than he'd have liked. For ages, he'd tried to learn to sleep in, but as long as he'd remembered, he'd never had the ability. Really...all the time in the world, and he couldn't squander a little on sleep...what a waste.

But there were morning wake-up sounds in the house--the sort of thing heard when people are getting dressed and mussing about in the kitchen. Sitting up, Luxord stretched and rubbed his eyes. Figuring Shera must be cooking, he left to take a breather outside, more than ready to breath in something that wasn't a musty, smoky old couch.

Outside, it was dim, the sun just barely peaking over the horizon. The morning dew still clung stubbornly to the grass, now wet under his bare feet, as he wandered out onto the lawn. The town lay under a thick gray fog, slowly unmasking the simple green landscape around the house, as the sun slowly crept up in the sky. These colors...the forest and pale greens...the gray scale...it was far too familiar for coincidence. They were the colors in Luxord's room, far away in the castle of the World that Never Was. Soft gray walls...a dark wooden bed with deep green sheets...

But there was little time to contemplate further.

"Git offa my property."

Luxord turned, expecting one of the nice folk from the town, and a conversation to match.

What he got was the business end of a spear to his neck, and an angry, angry Highwind on the other--his sharp blue eyes glaring as sharp as the end of the spear.

But the spear lowered as each met the other's gaze.

"You--"

Had the Captain said any more, Luxord missed it. A picture could show him a man's face, but did little more. But to meet the man and stare him down...to see him close and look into his eyes... When the poets described the windows to the soul, they weren't kidding.

Luxord remembered.

"Who tha' hell are you?"

Luxord's stomach twisted. Shin-Ra. The rocket. The scrubbed mission. Cloud. Sephiroth. The WEAPONS. Meteor. Holy. Vincent...

The spear raised again, as did the voice of the man carrying it, "I said, who tha' hell are you?!"

Gummi ships. Hollow Bastion. Merlin. Leon. The Heartless...the Darkness...

And he remembered the sharp pain as darkness was torn from a body--no longer his...and recalled waking, breath labored--head in the lap of a man in red, his dark hair falling over his shoulders--a woman in pink nearby, worried, crying out--asking if it had worked. The dark haired man had nodded then, lips moving, trying to speak a name that his voice would not bring.

"Cid..."

I think I'm you...


	2. Chapter 2

It was a lovely little privilege, waking next to the younger man. In fact, it was slowly becoming Luxord's new favorite past time.

Demyx, he'd learned, was not nearly as ditsy or slow-minded as people liked to think. The boy was quite bright, and was in-fact, quick to catch on. He simply did not enjoy fighting. So of course it would make sense that his powers would take a span to manifest. And once they did...oh, was it a surprise.

But with the subject of their abilities...Luxord couldn't help but give a quiet chuckle. On a skewed plane, they were sky and sea. It was almost cute. Almost.

But it seemed the only 'flighty' part left of Luxord wanted nothing to do with him--avoided him outright, in word and in presence.

"Demy..."

The musician in his arms nuzzled against Luxord's chest, wearing a sleepy, lop-sided grin. He gave soft yawn and a noncommittal 'hm?'.

Demyx was nothing short of adorable. He didn't have Luxord's wit, Axel's cunning or Xigbar's fighting skill--but he was more than competent in what he did, and during such, he was adorable--more than enough to drop a Heartless thrice his size, from sugar-shock.

"Dem--" Luxord rubbed the other's back, fingertips gently tickling down his spine, until Demyx finally cracked an eye open, giving Luxord guarantee that he was listening...more or less. "--do you remember how I told you that I was from Port Royal?"

"Mm hmm..." Demyx yawned and stretched, curling himself back up again at Luxord's side. "You were in the Navy or something...fighting pirates, right?"

"Well yes, about that--"

"Mm?" Demyx grinned sleepily, strands of soft blond hair falling down over his face.

"I lied."

- - -

He'd stared the Captain down, both frozen in their steps, trying to figure out what to make of the other. And when the Captain spoke up again, the threat hanging over Luxord remained. "I said; git offa my property."

Luxord remembered that he'd once owned that determined glare--the look of a man defending that which was his.

"Three..."

It simply couldn't be over something so simple as being caught on the man's land.

"Two..."

The man was obviously hiding something--he had no other reason to act so protectively. But what was it?

"Breakfast!"

Now...that definitely was not the voice of Cid Highwind.

"Come on back in boys!" It was Shera--thank the gods. "Luxord! Come on now!" She shouted to the impostor Highwind, leaning out the kitchen window, trying to wave the two back inside. "Stand out there barefoot, and you'll catch cold!"

Cid threw the Nobody the nastiest glare he had--a venomous promise that told Luxord he'd only yet seen the tip of the iceberg. But as breakfast was breakfast, and Shera was Shera--neither being smart things to ignore, Cid shouldered his spear, heading back to the house, leaving Luxord in his wake.

And breakfast, while not awkward...was, to say the least, strained.

With dishes out and food stuffs distributed, Cid sat flanked by Shera and a newcomer--one Luxord only vaguely remembered. This man, with his pale skin and long sleeves, ate quietly, only speaking up to reply to Shera--usually voicing an opinion that only further served to demean Cid in some way. It was playful the way they treated their captain--like the manner a parent would tease their child in front of friends. But despite this, both men were still on edge, even if the pale one didn't openly show it, as Cid did.

"You never told me you had family about." Shera noted offhandedly, sipping her orange juice.

"Of course not." the pale one replied, tucking a strand of jet black hair behind an ear. "Cid scared them all off."

Cid responded with an angry grunt, jabbing his fork into his pile of pancakes (--the pile very much resembling Luxord's, both sharing nearly identical amounts of butter and syrup atop them).

Luxord, never one to play around with his food, made quick work of his scrambled eggs. The other three conversed well enough on their own, which gave Luxord more than enough time to give the pale one a look-over. The man's voice echoed in his memories--but also did much more recently. Luxord recalled it from the night previous--from waking in the middle of the night, hearing Cid stumble in with him.

Vinnie...had he called the other? Vinnie...short for...?

Of course.

The man with the red cloak, the silver gun glinting in the light, and blood red eyes narrowed with the focus of a man trained to kill.

Vincent Valentine; Ex-Turk, dead man walking, Chaos' human vessel, and the lover of Cid Highwind. Of course...

With what all had struck Luxord so suddenly earlier in the yard, it had misted back over quite quickly... But this man sitting next to him... if Luxord truly used to be a part of Captain Highwind...did that mean that once upon a time...Vincent Valentine was his?

He would have scoffed, were his mouth not so full of pancakes.

So instead, he coughed, tapping his chest with a closed fist. As Shera voiced her concern, passing Luxord's cup of tea closer to him, and as Cid thoroughly ignored him, Vincent glanced over, tapping finger idly against the table. Luxord found the moment for feeling rather puzzled after he'd downed his tea, washing down the pancakes. The tapping--he'd noted, he'd seen the action, but had heard nothing. He caught the answer as some pepper as passed to Vincent, who received it with his left hand.

Ah...no claw this morning, only black gloves. (As the aforementioned 'claw' was not allowed at the breakfast table, a rule set by both Captain and live-in.)

"Yeah--" Luxord obviously hadn't been listening, as Cid had already pushed in his chair, taking his dishes to the sink. "--well Vinnie and I gotta get outta here, a'right? Got important business to take care of."

Shera gave him an imploring look, standing as well, with her chair bumping back behind her. "Cid--but your brother--"

"--can wait, Shera. It's important business." He stressed 'important', and she sunk back into her chair, holding back her arguments. "How many should I cook for tonight, then?" Cid couldn't cook to save his life, and Vincent wasn't far behind.

"Two." Cid replied, tugging a pair of gloves from his back pants pocket, Vincent up from the table as well, heading out of the kitchen (and presumably towards the bedroom, as Luxord remembered the sounds of the man's retreating footsteps from the night past).

"One." Luxord corrected, pushing his plate in. "As fate would have it, I've places to be as well. A few days at most--I'd never leave such a darling woman behind."

Cid rolled his eyes and gave a snort, pulling out a jacket from the hall closet, tying it around his waist by the sleeves. Luxord pressed on.

"But it has been a lovely time, Miss Shera--and I do hope my brother will be in better spirits next I drop in."

After that, nothing was left of Cid and Vincent, but a wisp or red coat and the sound of the screen door slamming behind them.

- - -

"Are you going to tell Xemnas?" Demyx asked, head-tilted ever-so-slightly, curled up in he warm blankets, watching Luxord intently for an answer. "--about, you know...the guy?"

"You really think I want to become a part of some twisted science experiment?" he said, giving a harsh chuckle. "If the Superior knew about Captain Highwind, he and I would be toted back to Vexen's lab, faster than you could say 'Heartless'."

Demyx gave a slight pout, nuzzling back into his pillows. "That's no good. Guess you'd better not then."

It almost sounded sentimental.

"Demyx..."

"Mm?"

Turned on his side, propped up by an elbow, Luxord gave the younger a good hard stare--the sort reserved for the kinds of deep, meaningful conversations that none of the Nobodies ever had--simply for lack of emotional depth. "Were I to...let's say, find myself in a do-or-die situation, and obviously could not perform to standard...where you there with me, would you stay at my side against odds, or leave?"

Demyx shifted, looking slightly uncomfortable. "I'd leave I guess."

Luxord nodded, having received the answer he expected. "No trouble, love--just asking." He kissed Demyx's forehead, welcoming the incoming snuggle from the other blond.

Since leaving, something had been grating at Luxord, and grating rather roughly at that.

Cid Highwind had everything. The man had his life, his love, his travels, his -tea-...the bastard had all he could ever hope for.

He had all that Luxord -didn't-.

And while Nobodies were not supposed to feel emotion, Luxord swore up and down he felt jealousy licking at him, like a fire set under him.

He wanted it all... he wanted to be whole.

And then he reasoned, why stay on for Xemnas' play-project, when his own heart sat so close? Luxord's other half was alive and well--something that none of the others could boast!

Why, he could leave, and before another would think odd of it, he'd be whole again! Why--? Why couldn't he?

Curled up in his arms, Demyx let a content sigh, nuzzling against Luxord's chest. "You can stay until morning, right, Luxord? You're not going to leave?"

Luxord chuckled softly, mussing Demyx's already messy hair. "Not tonight, love. Not tonight."

After all, he'd promised the lovely live-in a few days... He'd leave this place all right, but not yet. And before them...he had...a little bit of researching to attend to. 


	3. Chapter 3

As the gambler promised, Luxord spent the full night with Demyx; even to the point of waking early, which was his usual. He stayed put and waited on the other Nobody to wake, contently watching the other sleep.

Demyx finally awoke around ten am--or as close to ten am as they could get in the dayless World that Never Was. He yawned and stretched, making the funny faces associated with failing miserably at trying to wake up. He squirmed under the sheets and pulled at the covers, fighting to stay conscious .

"I smell pancakes..." Demyx mumbled. He'd gone flat on the bed again, sprawled out on his back. He blinked sleepily and rolled onto his side, pawing fruitlessly for the edge of the bed. As it stood, his strategy for movement wasn't working well at all.

Having long been awake, Luxord slid out of bed, porting out of Demyx's room to his own. He dressed, returning to find the boy still in bed, only incrementally closer to the edge.

"Demyx--come on now..."

He was a smart boy; quick to learn, but slow to wake.

Luxord offered Demyx a hand and between the two of them, pulled the Nocturne to his feet.

"Get dressed. You want that breakfast, don't you?" Luxord chuckled, patting Demyx's butt.

Demyx jumped, wide-eyed and hurried himself to his closet. He tugged out pants, his coat, and a pair of socks to replace the ones on his feet. As Nine dressed, Luxord stole one last look at Demyx's rear, and headed out into the hall to wait on him.

"Yo! Lux!" Xigbar grinned as he strode down the hall, wet hair pulled back into a loose ponytail with his skin damp from his morning shower. "How goes things? haven't seen you around lately."

"Just business as usual, Xigbar. Ah--where's your coat?"

Xigbar shrugged, thumbing back down the hall towards the bathroom. "Hot shower, wet skin--you expect me to put leather on after that? A free sauna's great, but not this early." The second-in-command snickered, having decided to ditch their uniform in favor of tank top and wrinkled slacks. "C'mon--s'my day off 'round here. I'm allowed to wear what I want."

Luxord chuckled and nodded, just as he felt a warm tickle against the back of his neck.

"Demyx--" he shivered, rubbing the spot. "--is it necessary to do that--breathing down my neck?"

With coat unzipped and hands in his pockets, Demyx grinned at the reaction recieved. "Yup. Got to keep you on your toes. Are we going to breakfast or not?" And so it was that they departed from loitering in the hallways, trekking off in search of something to ease their hunger...

Luxord soon found himself staring at a plate of pancakes identical to that he'd eaten yesterday. Just as many pancakes. Just as much butter. Just as much syrup.

When Xigbar turned to crack a joke to Xaldin, and Demyx too busy eating his own, Luxord pushed his plate towards Axel; their personal garbage disposal. He'd simply lost appetite lost.

"So you said you needed somethin'?" Xigbar asked, curiousity picqued over a comment Luxord had dropped to him in the halls. He stole some French toast off of Vexen's plate, blinking out of existence only long enough to dodge a spike of ice from nailing him in the face.

Luxord, whom was without his tea (nothing compared to Shera's any more. Anything less was simply not worth it), was forced to choke down coffee (assisted by more cream than should be allowed). "In due time, Two--in due time. Let a man wake up first."

Demyx made it point to swallow his oatmeal in time to break into the conversation. "--but you've been up so long already. You were up before me."

"Everyone--" Luxord sighed. "--is up before you, Dem. And you're not helping my point."

But Xigbar shrugged and let it pass for now. Between mouthfuls of food, he and Luxord planned to meet back in one of the smaller libraries immediately following breakfast, and meet they did.

Kicking back on a couch with feet propped up on a stack of books, Xigbar picked up a nearby book. He thumbed through it idly, looking for nothing in particular. "Okay, man. Spill it. Why am I here today?"

Luxord, who'd resisted the urge to pace, turned to the other and replied, though not nearly as timely as he should have. Ah, awkward pauses... "You're my best friend here, Xigbar."

"Friend being relative. We can't exactly form real relationships here without the ability to feel." Xigbar was smirking, the bastard.

Luxord rolled his eyes, again resisting urges; the newest being to chuck something at the other's head. "Cynical prat. You've been taking lessons from Vexen, haven't you?"

Xigbar laughed, grinning ear to ear. "Every day, baby. So what do you want?"

Xigbar was someone Luxord thought he could trust. So, the gambler spilled it all; Rocket Town, their Captain, all winding down to the fact that Luxord wasn't like the rest of the Nobodies. Unlike being one lonely half of a whole, he had found his Somebody.

"Damn." Was all that Xigbar could make of it for a good few minutes. "Just...damn, Lux."

"I know." Luxord sighed, taking a seat in an armchair across from the other.

"So what are you gonna do?"

"Take it back."

"Got a plan?"

"Not the foggiest."

So with that over their head, they sat back and had a good long think. In the world they lived in, watching lost hearts whiz past windows were not uncommon. Were it so easy to just pluck one out of the sky...well, they'd have all been whole by now.

"So..." Xigbar had abandoned his earlier book and moved to sit cross-legged on the couch, arms crossed, thinking face on.

"Precisely..." Luxord groaned, rubbing his temples.

An impasse.

Xigbar scratched idly at his eye patch. "Can't you just kill him?"

"And how do you suggest I catch a heart that's off floating towards the Queen Mother, out there?" Luxord said, passing a glance out to a window, as Kingdom Hearts glowed brightly as ever beyond it.

Xigbar snickered, lost to the idea of Luxord leaping around with a net, like a five-year-old trying to catch butterflies. Luxord, however, was not so amused.

"Xigbar, please--"

"Well--" he offered. "If you can't take it...then...fuck, I don't know. He has to give it to you?" It was a stupid guess--a shot in the dark.

Luxord raised an eyebrow, egging Xigbar's speculation further. "--give it to me? And how does he do that? I'm quite certain the man has no urge to die anytime soon."

Xigbar shrugged. "I'm all outta ideas."

Luxord groaned, head in his hands, shoulders slumped. "Bugger."

He needed answers. He needed time to think. He needed...tea.

- - -

"Thank you again, dear Shera." Luxord managed a weak smile, hands wrapping around a warm mug of freshly brewed tea, back in his usual seat. "You've no idea how much this means to me."

She busied herself cleaning--wasn't much else to do around. The rocket out back was old and defunct--no longer needing upkeep, and as well, she was certain Cid had run off with the keys to the eye-sore building near the rocket. But with Luxord around, she really couldn't go check anyway. It was too risky.

"It's no problem. It's a real joy having someone around to talk to...and--" she paused in her dusting. "But you look like all hell. Is something wrong?"

"Wrong?" he blinked, looking up from his cup. "No, my dear--nothing at..."

Her stare back told him that she thought he was full of bullshit.

"Shera..." he set his mug down, trying to cover his words and intent enough to sound casual. "Have you ever wished that someone would just...return something to you?"

"Return something?" She pulled up a chair, sitting across from the man. "Like what?"

"You know..." She didn't, obviously. She was whole. "This person I know...it's sort of like..they're...my other half, you know,and--"

It was far too late to try and change anything he's said. Their difference in perspectives was the undoing.

"Luxord--are you in love?"

Luckily, the mug was already seated on the table, or he would have dropped it.

"In love--?" he choked out. Now that was a new one.

Shera smiled knowingly, refilling his mug. "I remember that feeling--thought he was my everything, my soul mate, my..." she sighed softly. "--it was like he held the keys to my heart."

For politeness' sake, Luxord asked what became of the man.

"Well," she continued, smiling and laughing. "--then I found out he was a complete asshole and capable of holding grudges stronger and longer than any woman I know. Crushed that dream real quick, hm?" she chuckled, hands folded over the table. "But I'm better off without. I deserve better. Plus, he's got someone know who can keep him in line better than I ever did."

Luxord was still far too puzzled over the original comment about love. "But--this person of mine, to get...well, rather, to have them surrender, in a sense, their heart to me...then..."

"You've never wooed someone before, have you, Luxord?"

He'd told her, he was Cid's brother. Vincent stalked around the man like vultures to a carcass. And in all honesty, while Luxord could seduce...could one really ever seduce Cid Highwind? The man was thick-headed as a rock!

God...this was going to be awkward. 


End file.
